How long does pregnancy last for cats: 125 photos of care and nuances of care when carrying kittens

Owners of purebred cats often expect offspring from their pets. Not all representatives of the cat family can independently bear healthy offspring. It is precisely purebred cats that often need more vigilant attention and help from specialists.

It is important to immediately identify the symptoms of pregnancy in cats for the proper development of kittens. How many months does pregnancy last in cats? How to properly care for them during this period? This article will help answer these and other important questions.

Symptoms of pregnancy in cats

Thanks to several accompanying signs, you can determine whether your pet is pregnant:

morning sickness;
swelling and change in color of the nipples;
increased appetite;
change in food preferences;
change in character and behavior;
drowsiness and apathy.

Presence of pregnancy can only be determined with the naked eye in the second month. Specialists will be able to help in the second week of the term.

How to prepare for the procedure

When a clinic has been selected and a date for the study has been set, you need to prepare the pregnant cat for an ultrasound. To do this you will need to follow a few simple rules:

The day before the procedure, exclude all flour products from your pet’s menu, including pasta, dairy products and raw vegetables. Six hours before the examination, the expectant mother should not be fed at all; this is necessary to prevent flatulence on the doctor’s table.
A full bladder may be required during the test. If everything is simple with women, then the cat cannot be forced to drink a lot of water before the procedure, and even be patient afterwards. During the ultrasound, take a diuretic approved by your veterinarian, and if the need arises, give it to your cat.
Many specialists shave the examination area already in the clinic. But some may ask that the cat be brought already prepared. Find out the area to be shaved, and remove the hair from the area with a clipper without an attachment.
Cats, especially pregnant ones, do not tolerate the touch of strangers. To avoid injury to the veterinarian's hands, trim and file your pet's nails.

Methods for determining pregnancy

At the moment, it is impossible to use tests to determine whether a cat is pregnant or how many days it lasts. Possibly with the help of ultrasound 2 weeks after the start of coverage.

The veterinarian can determine pregnancy by palpation. Perhaps this is only on the 20th day and not later. Otherwise, the fluid-filled uterus will no longer allow this.

Cat behavior just before labor begins

If the initial period of pregnancy is missed due to the owner’s carelessness, you should know how to determine the onset of labor in a cat.

Most cats do not require assistance with their kittens.

A few days before lambing, the animal may completely stop eating, and its behavior becomes quite nervous. During this period, you can notice how the stomach drops, water flows out, the shade of which is gray with a red admixture. Labor can last about a day.

Most cats do not require assistance when giving birth to kittens; they are able to gnaw the umbilical cord themselves using their teeth. However, not all animals are the same, which is why some cats ask their owners for help.

Some cats will still need help, and during pregnancy you should pay more careful attention to your pet

During the postpartum period, the animal should be helped to recover by showing care. It is worth treating the mammary glands to prevent bacteria from entering.

Gestation period for Scottish cats

The first question that arises for pet owners is how long the pregnancy of a Scottish cat lasts.

On average, the process takes 65 days, starting from the first day of coverage. May vary from 60 to 70 days. Not everyone succeeds exactly on time. This directly depends on proper care of your pet.

In the Scottish breed there are cats with straight and hanging ears. The shape will not affect in any way how long pregnancy lasts in fold-eared or straight-eared cats.

How to choose a clinic

When choosing a clinic where your animal will be examined and treated, pay attention to the following points:

attendance should be as high as possible;
look at reviews of all nearby clinics on the Internet, choose the one with the least negative ones;
visit the clinic and see for yourself the environment and sanitary conditions;
ask for feedback through social networks, or ask your friends about the quality of services provided.

Also take a closer look at the staff, they should not be rude.

If something in the clinic itself did not suit you (there was an unpleasant smell, repairs had not been carried out for a long time, and so on), and the reviews about the specialist are only the most reliable, then ask if there is a service for a veterinarian to come to your home with equipment.

Gestation periods for British cats

How long does pregnancy last in British cats? On average, the same as for Scottish representatives. The more kittens expected to be born, the sooner you can expect birth. Some may appear on the 58th day from the day of conception.

Most owners are concerned about the cat's first pregnancy and how long this process lasts. Don't irritate your pet. In cats, the process is inherent in nature. The timing of the first or subsequent pregnancy is not affected in any way.

How does childbirth occur in sphinxes?

The time of birth is easy to calculate taking into account the date of the planned mating. The cat should be monitored more closely during the last week of pregnancy. You should not leave the sphinx alone for a long time; she requires the presence of her owner. Her behavior changes: she either tries to hide, then calls her owner, often lies down in her nest and leaves it.

1-3 days before the end of pregnancy, the Sphynx's temperature may drop: the tips of the ears and paws become cold. All of these are behavioral symptoms of impending labor.

Signs of imminent labor

The following signs will notify you of the onset of labor:

the cat actively licks the belly and vulva;
breathing rate increases;
the cat arches its back and meows - contractions begin;
thick red-brown or transparent mucus is released from the vulva - the plug has come out, the uterus has begun to open.

When labor begins, you need to calm the cat down. If she rushes around the house, she needs to be taken into a box and laid on her side - this is the most comfortable position. You should not allow the Sphynx to sit down - an inexperienced mother can injure or crush the kitten. The owner's voice and stroking will calm the animal.

Pregnant Sphynx: stages of labor

Labor takes place in several stages:

The passage of the mucus plug indicates the beginning of the first stage of labor.
Period of contractions. Its duration can reach 12 hours. At this time, the uterine os opens (it is bicornuate in cats). During the birth process, kittens (alternately from different horns) will enter the body of the uterus to be born. When the interval between contractions is reduced to 30–40 seconds, the next stage begins.
Pushing period. Muscle contractions push the fetus towards the birth canal, pressure on which causes pushing. The cat pushes, expels the fetus through the birth canal.
Stage of childbirth. The kitten is born in the amniotic sac. The Sphinx actively licks it, thereby breaking the membrane, removing amniotic fluid from the throat and stimulating respiratory activity. In the next push, the placenta comes out, which the cat eats after chewing the umbilical cord. The mother then pushes the firstborn towards the nipple. Active sucking stimulates subsequent labor.

After a short break, the entire cycle is repeated as many times as kittens were conceived. On average, the labor of a sphinx lasts from 2 to 8 hours. After several kittens are born, labor may stop. This is not a cause for alarm: labor will resume in a few hours.

Inexperienced obstetricians may be shocked that a cat eats the placenta. This process cannot be interfered with. The placenta contains hormones and biologically active substances that help during childbirth: they give strength and stimulate uterine contractions.

Felinologists advise allowing the cat to eat the first 3-4 afterbirths, and removing the rest as they appear.

Proper care during pregnancy

Cats change their behavior after conception begins.
They move little, lick themselves more often and do not come into conflict with other pets. But it is the owners who need to monitor the correct diet of purebred cats:

at the end of 1 month you can increase the usual portion of food;
it is advisable to divide the double volume of food into several equal parts;
at the end of 2 months, establish the original diet before pregnancy.

If cats are usually fed natural food, then it is worth adding vegetables and herbs, fermented milk products. Sometimes give boiled fish and increase the amount of meat in the daily diet.

If your pet has consumed ready-made food, it should be replaced with cat food for pregnant and lactating women.

And most importantly, do not irritate a pregnant cat. Moving, rearranging furniture or loud noise can affect the health of future kittens.

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On what day of the menstrual cycle can you visit a gynecologist?

If the purpose of the visit to the gynecologist is a preventive examination, then the examination and ultrasound examination are best carried out in the first phase of the cycle, 8-12 days after menstruation. But if you feel any discomfort in your intimate areas, you should consult a doctor immediately. The reasons for an urgent visit to the gynecologist, on any day of the menstrual cycle and even during menstruation, may be:

Frequent urination, blood in the urine, pain and burning;
Acute pain in the lower abdomen, accompanied by fever and nausea;
Pain and bleeding during pregnancy;
Sharp pain that appears after an abortion or other surgical intervention;

Birth of kittens

The most difficult thing for people without specialized education is determining the onset of labor in a pet.

There are several characteristic signs of a cat:

anxiety;
poor appetite or complete refusal to eat;
licks and breathes frequently;
settles in a certain place and does not leave it.

The cat is able to cope with the birth of kittens. Excessive attention can cause stress in a cat, which often affects the process of giving birth to kittens.

If the birth is too long and bleeding appears, then you cannot do without the help of specialists.

How to choose a specialist

Before sending a pregnant cat for an ultrasound, you need to take care not only of choosing a trusted clinic, but also make sure that the specialist who will perform the procedure is highly qualified.

It is better to choose a clinic rather than trust the health of your pet and her future offspring to a private doctor, and there are reasons for this:

Clinics are equipped with modern equipment for conducting research, and not every private veterinarian can boast of the same.
In the clinic it is much easier to learn about the professionalism of a specialist.
Not all private doctors have confirmed qualifications, and many of them do not have any at all. At the clinic, the pet owner can receive for review all the necessary documents confirming the specialist’s qualifications.

But there are also professionals in their field among private veterinarians. If acquaintances or friends were satisfied with the services received, then there is no point in neglecting his work and paying more at the clinic.

Caring for mother and kittens

After giving birth, the cat may refuse to eat for 24 hours. It is still worth worrying about the availability of food, water and access to a waste tray.

The cat provides the kittens with full milk nutrition for 4 months. You should not touch or pick up kittens at first. There will be plenty of time to pet and watch the cute little kittens.

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Malformations of the upper limbs

Anomalies include any deviations in the skeleton of the shoulder girdle and arms.

If we talk about developmental anomalies of the upper extremities, the classification developed by The American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) and the International Federation of Societies for Surgery of the Hand (IFSSH) shows the following areas:

Structural defects are longitudinal and transverse.
Impaired differentiation of bone and soft tissue.
Polydactyly or duplication.
Excessive development of segments.
Inferiority of development.
Underdevelopment of hands or fingers.
Congenital constrictions.
General pathology of the skeleton.

Main diseases:

malformations of the hand - its complete absence, the inability to move the wrist or straighten it;
absence of other parts - forearm, fingers;
phocomelia – seal-like limbs;
syndactyly - fused fingers;
stenosing ligamentitis – inability to straighten the finger;
camptodactyly – part of a limb is missing due to intrauterine constrictions.
giant or very long fingers.

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